Art Stopped Short

Here are some narrative and artistic reasons why JKR's Dumbledore
revelation is a bad idea:


1. As he explains to Harry in Deathly Hallows, Dumbledore's seduction
is power, not male bods (however much they may rule). This is why he
refused to become Minister for Magic, one of the repeated mysteries in
the books.

Now he could lying to Harry. But since there is no reason in the books
to think that Dumbledore is gay, believing that he befriended
Grindelwald because of his attraction to him rather than a shared
interest in Muggle conquest puts us in the ridiculous position of
believing the author's statements outside the books in preference to
her statements inside the book.

This is kind of an interesting meta-critical dilemma, I guess. But
from any other standpoint it is pure rubbish. It means that
Dumbledore, because he knew he could not trust his weakness for
handsome young men, chose to avoid becoming Minister for Magic so he
could..... go on being headmaster at Hogwarts. A traditional choice
perhaps, but not the finest display of Dumbledore's legendary wisdom,
is it?

-----------------------------------------------------------

2. JKR seems to believe that Dumbledore's failed love for Grindelwald
provides an understandable reason for Dumbledore's attraction to Dark
Magical Conquest. But Dumbledore doesn't need a reason to want to
conquer Muggles. He already has a perfectly good one------ his sister
was abused by Muggles unto madness. His father was imprisoned for
attacking those Muggles. His mother died when Arianna was unable to
control her magic. Almost his entire family has been destroyed by the
wanton actions of some criminal Muggles.

And yet JKR feels she has to pile on another reason to excuse for
Dumbledore, as a youth, briefly considering Muggle conquest--- for the
Greater Good, mind you---- before he abandoned that goal and lead a
blameless life of service and accomplishment for the next century?

Ludicrous. This is a parody of tragedy. There is no sin but plenty of
rationalization.

---------------------------------------------

3. Making Dumbledore gay violates the basic premise of allegorical
fantasy. Gays are inherently associated with an underground
counterculture. And unfortunately there already is an underground
counterculture in Harry Potter---- the Wizarding World. Gays, like all
those tinged with "Other-ness", all those people whom Vernon Dursley
would classify as "weirdos", are already included in the Wizarding
World at an allegorical level.

You cannot bring the thing itself and its fictional representation
into the same place in a novel. If you do they will mutually
annihilate, destroying your fictional universe.

This is why it is silly for Christians to want Harry Potter to say
something like "I do my magic in the name of Jesus Christ" or whatever
incantation it is they want. Harry Potter's adventures basically
represent an allegorical parallel to the Christian drama. So it would
be bathos for Harry Potter to invoke Jesus to do his magic. He is a
Christ symbol himself.

Or, while on the subject of Christ symbols, we could consider Aslan's
response to Lucy about whether he existed in our world, Aslan saying:

"I am. But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by
that name. This was the very reason you why you were brought to
Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better
there."

Why doesn't Aslan just say:

"Over in your world I am called Jesus Christ. Duh. Worship me there at
the Church of England of your choice. Oh, and don't expect me to pull
your fat out of the fire every thirty pages over there like I do here.
Safe journey. Ta." ?

Lewis does not directly equate Aslan with Jesus because that would
collapse the allegory, destroying his fiction. And this is precisely
why Dumbledore should not be gay. The message of tolerance in the
Harry Potter series rides inside an allegory. You cannot include a
member of a untolerated group in a major role without making the
allegory irrelevant.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Unanswered Questions
    ... the reason for his "great remorse" when he later learns that Voldemort ... a negative) is that Dumbledore didn't tell Harry that. ... Harry knows about Wormtail's magical debt. ...
    (alt.fan.harry-potter)
  • Re: Frankly Im Disgusted
    ... And, yes, Dumbledore really was that emotionally stupid. ... > Dumbledore almost told Harry what his real reason for trusting ...
    (alt.fan.harry-potter)
  • Re: Why Didnt Dumbledore Ever Reprimand Snape?
    ... > reason that Dumbledore hasn't reprimanded Snape is story-external. ... and had told Harry about the prophecy in that book as ...
    (alt.fan.harry-potter)
  • Re: Unanswered Questions
    ... Potters were killed, and he tells Harry that the reason Snape returned ... that he defected to Dumbledore in order to let Dumbledore know that ...
    (alt.fan.harry-potter)
  • Re: Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him
    ... and defenseless as Dumbledore had been. ... confronts Harry as the same as the look on ... One does not have to kill someone to hate them. ... The hatred which _your_ Snape projects towards Dumbledore can in no ...
    (alt.fan.harry-potter)